Woodward goals lead to Railer win

Wednesday

Mar 27, 2013 at 6:47 AMMar 27, 2013 at 6:47 AM

By Mark Schnabel?Newton Kansan

McPHERSON — The Newton High School girls’ soccer team doesn’t have many wins at the McPherson Invitational.?The Railers reversed the trend Tuesday with a 2-0 win over Salina South in quarterfinal play at McPherson Stadium.?Chloe Woodward scored both Railer goals with assists from Katelyn Zenn and Hannah Yoder. Kelsi Langley stopped four shots in goal for the shutout win.?“It was surprising and it felt good,” Chloe Woodward said. “I got good assists from my teammates. The chip, I was aiming for the upper corner. It got behind her hand.”?“We came out in the first half, we were able to put passes together,” Newton coach Scott Jantzi said. “When we’re able to put passes together, it spreads teams out. We were able to put some nice combinations together with Chloe and Zenn. We were able to get those opportunities. When Chloe got those opportunities, she was able to put it in the back of the net. In the second half, we allowed them to control play. We weren’t able to put those passes together. (South has) some weapons on their team. They have a good squad. This will be a confidence builder for our squad.”?Newton improves to 1-0-1 for the season, the Railers’ best start in several years.?“I feel our team has improved a lot,” Chloe Woodward said. “We are a lot stronger for the season.”?Newton plays at 6 p.m. Thursday against Hays, which opened with a 5-0 win over Augusta. The final round is Saturday.?“We have a good chance Thursday,” Chloe Woodward said. “We have to work together and get our passes.”?Newton controlled the ball for about the first 25 minutes of the game, outshooting South 4-0 and scoring a pair of goals — the first on a break and the second on a floating shot over Cougar goalkeeper McKeznie Haynes.?South posted a shot late in the first half.?South started to gain control early in the second half, getting several corner kicks early. A South goal midway in the second half was called back for offsides. Newton was able to keep the Cougars contained the rest of the way. South missed a penalty kick with 3:19 remaining in regulation.?“I’m proud of the girls,” Jantzi said. “They showed some fight. We’ll make our adjustments and come out ready to play Thursday.”